Menachem Begin

Modern Orthodox leaders in Israel are trying to launch a movement to build bridges across the widening religious-secular gulf. Some 200 Israeli rabbis, academics and activists gathered last month at Kibbutz Lavi in the Galilee to rethink the role of religious Zionism and modern Orthodoxy in Israel. It was 23 years since a similar conference… More ▸

An Israeli court has ruled that Ariel Sharon, defense minister during the 1982 war in Lebanon, misled Prime Minister Menachem Begin regarding the extent of the military operation that he planned to implement. With its ruling Tuesday, the Tel Aviv District Court rejected a libel suit filed by Sharon against the Israeli daily Ha’aretz. Sharon,… More ▸

A public debate has erupted in Israel over whether former Prime Minister Menachem Begin had been unaware of then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to bring the Israeli army to Beirut as part of the 1982 Operation Peace for Galilee. Likud Knesset member Ze’ev “Benny” Begin, son of the late prime minister, submitted an affidavit last… More ▸

Likud Knesset member Ze’ev “Benny” Begin resigned this week as chairman of his party’s information commission in a move reflecting tensions at the top of Israel’s main opposition party. Sources close to Begin, who is the son of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin, cited “ideological differences” between him and Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu. Begin… More ▸

Likud Knesset member Ze’ev “Benny” Begin resigned this week as chairman of his party’s information commission in a move reflecting tensions at the top of Israel’s main opposition party. Sources close to Begin, who is the son of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin, cited “ideological differences” between him and Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu. Begin… More ▸

Amid controversy over archaeological excavations at an ancient burial site in Jerusalem, vandals have desecrated the grave of Menachem Begin on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Police found a black swastika daubed on the gravestone of the late prime minister after an anonymous caller contacted Israel Radio to say the act was in retaliation… More ▸

Menachem Begin did not want to expand the Lebanon war in 1982. But he hesitated a full month before saying no to Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, by which time it was too late, according to sensational new testimony by the late prime minister’s personal secretary at the time. Yona Klimowitzky made that disclosure in a… More ▸

Israel’s newest superhighway will be named in memory of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin, it was announced Wednesday. Tel Aviv’s recently completed Ayalon route, which bisects the city from north to south, will bear the name of the Israeli leader who died in Tel Aviv on March 9 at the age of 78. The… More ▸

Although he was not the longest-serving prime minister of Israel, Menachem Begin had the longest-lasting funeral of any Israeli leader. It continued for hours after his burial Monday on the Mount of Olives. Mourners flocked to the cemetery long after the family and dignitaries had departed. Some walked silently past the fresh grave. Others bent… More ▸

Rabbi Allan Smith first heard Menachem Begin in 1950 when the former freedom fighter visited Boston and spoke at Temple B’nai Moshe. “I remember the fire in his eyes,” said Smith, who is director of the youth division of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. “He did not move from that day until the day… More ▸